Impkovement in stave machines



@uitrit gta-trs @sind @frn IMPROVEMENT IN STAVB MAGHINEYS.

J`.'o..coo1, oF BUFFALO, Newr YORK. Letters Patent No. 59,821, dated November 20, 1866; antedatediNovember 16, 1866.

sgrEczrje-jrdA'IICJN.V To ALL wHoM IT MAY coNcEnN:

Be it known that I, J. C. COOK, of -the city of Buifalo, in the county of Erie, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Machines for Dressing -Stavesg and I do hereby declare that thegfollowingl is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings making part of this specification, .in which- Figure 1 isl a plan of my improved machine.

Figure 2 is an elevation of the front end of the same.

Figure 3, a detached side view of the spring guide. v

Figure 4, a diagram showing one of the lower adjustable bearings of the shafts of the cutter heads.

Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

The object of my improvements is to obviate certain difliculties which have heretofore existed in dressing staves, especially those possessing great irregularities as to straightness and other irregularities of form; and the invention consists in the pivoted steps in which the shafts of the feed rollers revolve, in combination with said convex feed rollers, and the pivoted spring forming their upper bearings,1in the arrangement of stops or fen/der .rollers .on the shafts of the cutter heads with other parts, and in constructing the two perpendicularly revolving cutter heads-one small, with two knives, for dressing the outer side of the stave, and the other much larger, with four or more knives, for dressing the inner side of the same, when the several parts are arranged to operate in` relation to one another, substantially as set forth.

In the drawings, A represents the floor or platform to which my machine is fastened; B, the lower horizontal portion of the frame which connects the standard bearings C of the driving shaft D with the rest of the machine; E, the upright portions of the frame; F, is an upper platform or bed-plate to which the self-adjusting spring guide a, broad plane guide b, and adjustable guides c c, are attached, and above which are mounted,

on their respective shafts, the large cutter head H, and smaller one I, and the convexfeed rollers G G; J, the upper cross-bar of the frame, provided with a slot, in which adjust, by means of set screwsd d, the upper square bearings e e of the shafts ofthe cutter heads HI. These shafts extend downward through slots in the bedplate F, and rest and revolve in the adjustable step ff, (iig. 2,) which may be secured to the horizontal plates K K of thefram'e and adjust thereon bymeans of a bolt g and a slot h, as shown in fig. 4. Similar adjusting bearings f' f for the same shafts are also employed, fastened to the .under side of the bed-plate F, so as to render the former more firm and steady. Between the bearingsf and f are mounted the pulleys z'z', (iig. 2,) by which motion is imparted to the cutterheads by means of belts connecting with band wheels, L, on driving shaft, D. M M (iig: 2) are two steps pivoted in any suitable manner to a base or support, ILand having sockets in which revolve the shafts of the feed rollers. These shafts extend upward through slots in the bed-'plate and hav( for bearings at their top the ends of the curved spring lr, loosely pivoted to the upper cross-bar, J, of the frame as shown at Z, so as to allow both feed rollers, Gr G, a lateral movement, to conform to any crooks or bends in th( undressed stave. The spring c also allows the feed rollers to adjust to or from each other according to thevary ing thickness of different staves or of the several parts of the same one. O O are guards, or fender rollers, t( prevent the feed rollers from coming in Contact or too nearly approaching each other.

P is a transverse horizontal shaft provided at one end with a band wheel Q, connecting with the pulley m on shaft D. lThe shaft P has a bevel pinion gearing with a similar one on a short horizontal axis, placed atgrigh angles with P, and having at its front end the bevel pinion n, gearing with pinion p, on feed roller shaft j, b: which means the roller receives the necessary motion, which is imparted tothe other one 7' by the spur gear g g o is an ordinary broad plane faced lguide bolted to the bed-plate; a is an oval or convex guide roller, having it bearings in arms 7 r, extending from a plate R, (fig, 3,) which fits in a mortise or socket, s, in the frame S, anl which, by means of the coiled springs t t, is made capable ofyielding, 'so that the roller acan adapt itself to th inequalities of the stave, the upper or lower spring yielding most as the upper or lower edge of the stave i thicker than the other, so as to keep the outer side of the stave constantly pressed flatly against the plane guid b; c c are guides for the nished end of the stave provided with slotted bases and set screws, by which they ar adjusted and secnredto the bed-plate. v

TheV cutter heads, H and I, are each mounted on an upright shaft (as before described) between the bec plate F and the upper cross plate J. The head I, which is designed for dressing the outer side of the stave, i made comparatively small, and asmuch lless material is required to be out olf from that side (as is well know to coopers) than from theinner side only two knives are employed of the proper convexfformed edge.' vThe stave being so placed in the machine thatthe smoother and broader side shallV formthe outer side of the'dressed stave, it is evident that the greater inequalitiesa-nd the excessive "thickness of some 'portions andof, the whole stave when it is unusually thick, have all to be cut oil from the-.inner side, so that the' stave may -bedressed of the greatest width that the piece is capable of making. In order to adequately provide for this 'ex-trg. work, construct the head, H, proportionally larger so as to give it the required strength and provide it with four or more knives (preferably four) of suitable concave-formed edge, which 'renders it capable of performing the re. quired work in va successful manner. In other respects t able manner; v is a pulley by which the shaft, D, receives its motion.

The operation of my improvements, constructed as before described, is as follows:

The cutter head I is'first adjusted by means of the bearings e f f', with reference to the guides b and c, so that it will only dress olf what may be necessary to smooth and give the required conveXity to the outer side of the stave. The cutter head H is then adjusted with respect to I, according to the required thickness of the stave when dressed. The machine yis now set in motion by connecting the pulley v by a band withthe motive power, when the baud wheels L L communicate motion tothe pulleysz' z' on the shafts of the cutter heads, and the pulley m, being connected with the wheel Q, imparts the necessary motion tothe feedrollers bymeans of the gearing before described. A stave is `now introduced between the feed rollers so that the wider and smoother Side 'will be next to the guide-b, as it is drawn in'by the rollers, the convex `spring guide a, keeping the stave pressed firmlyy against the broad surface of b, whatever the inequalities of the former may be, and the feed rollers, by means of the spring c, adapting themselves to the crooks and varying thickness ef/the stave as it passes between them. The end of the rough stave having nowreached the cutter heads,I the dressing process begins, the knives attached to I only cutting oiffw'hat may be necessary to properly fornrand smooth the outer side'of the stave, while the four knives of the large cutter H cutaway all the surplus' material, however thick the'stuif may be, dressing it to the required thinness as it passes through them and thence through the guides c c. 'lfhe machine is readily stopped by running theband on pulley o to the loose pulley w.

The advantages of my improvements may bc brieily enumerated, as follows:

The pivoted steps M`M allow the feed'rollers the'neccssary free lateral movement to ladapt themselves 'to any irregularities of form in the stave, while the sockets may be made of sulhcient depth to'properlysteady the shafts revolving in them, and thereby also diminish, in a measure, the great wear by friction which occurs when the steps are rigidly fastened. Secondly, the use of the pivoted step with itsAsocket prevents the bottom'of 'the shafts (which are necessarily loose at'their top) from getting displaced, as would frequently be the case were a stationary step employed with the shallow socket, which then becomes a necessity. l l i' rj The self-adjusting convex spring guide, constructed as described, will at all times'vkeep'the outer side of the stave, lwhatever the inequalities of the-latter may be, pressed against the plane guide b, the convexity of the roller` and the springs t,`both adapting themselves to the varying thickness of the diiferent parts of :the stave.

The spring Ic, in'combination with the convex feed rollers, allows the latter to adapt themselves to the curvature@ of the stave so as not to disturb the latter from its necessary and steadyA contact with the broad plane guide b. l I t The employment of a small cutter head with two knives and a large cutter head with four knives, so as to correspond with the labor they are required to perform, enables them to dress a stave with a facility and a degreegof perfection never before attained.y

' i What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is v The combination and arrangement of the self-adjusting feed rollers G G, spring roller guidefa, fixed guides b and c c, and the two cutter heads H'I, having a different number of cutters, substantially as andl for the purpose herein specified. l y l In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed-'my namein the presence of two subscribing witriesses.

l 'I J. (1000K. l Witnesses:

JAY HYATT, L. Fossa.

man

he heads maybe constructed in any ordinary and suit- 

